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Walmart names global food safety VP

Sara Mortimore comes to retail giant from Land O’Lakes

Russell Redman

May 6, 2019

2 Min Read
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Land O’Lakes executive Sara Mortimore has joined Walmart as vice president of global food safety compliance.

Walmart said Mortimore is slated to start in the post on May 13. In the role, she will lead the retailer’s global food safety compliance group and program across the company.

Mortimore will report to Chris Cyrenne, senior vice president of global regulatory compliance. She takes over responsibilities in Walmart’s ethics and compliance department previously held by Vice President of Food Safety Frank Yiannis, who left the company in November to become deputy commissioner for food policy and response at the Food and Drug Administration. 

Sara_Mortimore_Walmart_2019.png“It’s an honor to join a recognized leader in food safety,” Mortimore (left) said in a statement. “Walmart has embraced emerging digital technologies while not losing sight of the foundational elements of sound food safety management. It is adapting to an increasingly complex global supply chain and changing consumer demands with an innovative mindset in food safety that is exciting to now be part of.”

At Land O’Lakes, Mortimore served as vice president of product safety, quality and regulatory affairs, with responsibility for all of the company’s businesses from “farm to fork,” according to Daniel Trujillo, executive vice president and global chief ethics and compliance officer at Walmart. She joined Land O’Lakes in January 2008 from General Mills, where she was director of quality and regulatory operations after 18 years at the company.

Related:Walmart requires suppliers to use traceability system for leafy greens

“Sara’s prior experience leading quality, strategy, continuous improvement and change management makes her a perfect fit for this role,” Trujillo said in a company memo on Mortimore’s appointment. “Sara is an expert on quality and food safety management, with over 30 years of experience covering the entire supply chain. She is a co-author on a number of books on the topic of food safety and in particular the HACCP [hazard analysis and critical control points] system. Her main academic interest is the development of integrated food safety and quality management using a risk-based approach.”

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart has been stepping up its food safety efforts. Last fall, the company announced a new program to require suppliers of fresh leafy greens to use the blockchain-based IBM Food Trust Network. Walmart said direct suppliers had to establish one-step back traceability on the blockchain network by Jan. 31, 2019, and then end-to-end traceability back to the farm by Sept. 30, 2019.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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